?'s about 144 Cultivator Trip Shank's

I'm trying to setup my 144 cultivator on my '50 SA. I also have a Cub that I have a cultivator setup for.

1) Are the feet the same for a Cub and a SA?

2) What's the best way to set the depth and angle of attack on them?

3) Several have bent shanks. Is there a good way to straighten them out without damaging them.

4) What size plow foot do most of you run and are they up front or on the rear tool bar?

Thanks, GAGoober

Thu Jan 05, 2006 7:14 am

#1- Don't know, maybe.

#2- Set the tractor on a flat surface and adjust until all points contact the same.

#3- I would imagine you will have to heat them. Make sure the trips work freely.

#4- I run sweeps front and rear. I feel they get more weeds. I don't know your soil type. that will have a lot to do with it.

Best,
Mike

Thu Jan 05, 2006 7:51 am

I have cultivator items for cubs and also for the SA. I will compare sizes later today and, if no one has provided an answer, will respond to # one. I am interested in responses on item three as some of the cub footpiece shanks are bent. Dan

Thu Jan 05, 2006 11:01 am

I'm not even sure I understand the question. I did at one time a couple of years ago have about 4 dozen NOS cultivator shovels (feet?). I still use shanks on my Super A and sometimes on my Cub that are a little different in diameter, some shanks bent and some shanks straight, some long and some short. I made my garden in high rows and when I worked it, I would put the inside cultivator high for the side of the row (near the plants), then a little lower for the side of the row, then lower for the bottom of the middle. I never paid any attention to where the bent ones were, just the size. I don't use them any more. I use a Gee Whiz. But the bent ones are probably made that way, so you may just find a set of as many as you want to use. Three each side, four each side, one on just one side, or whatever and however you feel comfortable working your garden with them. I used to work 30 acres, but now when I make a garden, it is so small that when I drop my disk, it is time to lift it again. I don't even get my tractor up to good operating temp..

Thu Jan 05, 2006 11:16 am

Merlin, What got me to thinking was a "want add" for shields on a Cub cultivator. Luckily I bought the #122 which are used with spring trips, which is the setup I have. I re-read the 144 Owner/Setup manual again and depending on whether it is a 4 or 6 shovel setup you use the short shanks closer into the plants and the longer ones out from the row. I wanted to know if the shanks diameter's were the same as the SA ones and if the length were identical as well because I have a small pile of them to go through. As for the bent ones I could live with them or put them in a press and squeeze them straighter.

Thanks, GAGoober

Thu Jan 05, 2006 11:21 am

1) By "feet" I assume you are refering to the actual earth working tools (blades, sweeps, shovels etc.). They come/came in a wide variety of types. So any 2 cultivators may have very different tools but the same choices were available for both the Cub and Super A (and others).

2) Like VA Mike said, start with a smooth surface. If all your tools are the same type, that pretty well gets it. If you, for example, have double point shovels on the front and sweeps on the back, you may need to tweak them a little relative to each other after you try it in the ground. Shovels usually run a little deeper than sweeps. The angle may need adjusting. For example, the sweeps should lay pretty flat while others are more upright. Angle should be adjusted before the depth. Fortunately, angle usually isn't disturbed when the cultivators are removed and don't usually need changing.

3) What Mike said.

4) Choice of tools depends on soil type, condition (like moisture level), weeds (deep rooted, grass etc.) and even what crop you are cultivating. For some of us with old equipment, it often is a question of that is on the cultivator when we buy it. Sweeps usually run shallow, disturb less of the soil and slice weeds off, mostly leaving them on top of the ground. Double point shovels work deeper, tend to rip the weed's roots out of the ground and bury more of the weed. Other tools like rotary hoes, weeder-mulchers and disk hillers are special cases and you probably won't need to consider them.

Thu Jan 05, 2006 11:35 am

Like Merlin, I wasn't sure of the meaning of your question. The only difference which I noted between SA and Cub was that the diameter of the shank or standard for the SA was slightly larger than that of the Cub. Dan

Thu Jan 05, 2006 11:38 am

I see a couple posts were added while I was writing mine.

I didn't think about raised beds or similar approaches in my earlier reply. I was just thinking flat. Those approaches may require some adjustment from the "flat surface" adjustment. But start on a flat surface and make adjustments from there.

On the bent shanks, I was assuming you have some that were bent back and needed straightening. If not too bent, you can compensate by adjusting the angle of attack. Shanks were made with a double bend to create a sideways offset position. I think that is what Merlin was refering to. They give you some additional options on sideways positioning. On the 144 cultivators, you can usually get what you need without offset shanks.

I think all Cub and Super A shanks are the same diameter. Some larger tractors use a larger diameter. There are at least 3 common lengths, of which 2 seem to be common on the 144 cultivator. Generally, the short one is close to the row because they are clamped to the frame in a lower position. That gives you the same general range of adjustment for all of them. Also, the short one ends up under the tractor so you can raise the cultivator out of the ground befor you whack the bottom of the tractor with the cultivator.

Be sure to set a stop on the Touch-Control lever to stop upward motion before it hits the tractor.

Thu Jan 05, 2006 12:35 pm

Jim wrote,

Be sure to set a stop on the Touch-Control lever to stop upward motion before it hits the tractor.

For my set at least, it seems that the TC has more than enough travel. I have to set the stop so the front tool bar mounting bolt doesn't come up too far and hit the engine/torque tube flange, on the left side.

Thu Jan 05, 2006 8:48 pm

Thanks to all of you who replied. After reading replys I realized that I wasn't as specific as I thought. I have shovels and sweeps mounted. The shanks apparently were bent because they didn't trip, ,sooo Merlin I guess the first thing I will do will be is to insure that they trip. Va Mike, Dan ,Jim and Donny I will get them all aligned on a good hard surface to insure that the points will do what they were designed to do. Some of my ?'s arise from not having ever used them to know just what they are capable of. I can only get the basic concept from reading the manual.
Thank you all again.

GaGoober
Mark P.
P.S. After I get past this I will have ?'s about seed and fertilizer hopper operation.